


Manhattan Love Story: A Maid in Manhattan Retelling

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Basically Lilo and Stich x Maid in Manhattan, But cuter maybe, F/M, Maid in Manhattan AU, Modern AU, Senator Ben Solo, The Maid in Manhattan AU that nobody asked for, maid rey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 10:28:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17681720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rey's life is pretty complicated--between playing guardian to her younger sister Padme, she's keeping a job as a maid at Canto Bight Hotel and considering applying for a higher position.She certianly has no time to keep seeing Senator Ben Solo, who, for some reason, thinks she's a guest at the hotel. Hijinks and walks along Central Park with his dog Chewie throws Rey in the spotlight, and she has to decide if utterly delicious Ben is worth this elaborate lie she's weaving.





	Manhattan Love Story: A Maid in Manhattan Retelling

“Padme, seriously, we’re going to be late!” Rey hollered into the hallway after she burst out of her bedroom, halfway into her sweater, still in her socks. But hey, at least her hair was already up.

“Padme!”

“Coming, coming!” Padme finally appeared in the hallway, looking a little more disheveled than her older sister. Her headphones were resting on her neck, and she was trying to stuff her books into her backpack.

“Seriously, P, we can’t be late,” Rey exasperatedly told her little sister, pushing her along down the hallway and out the door.

“Wait! My shoes!” Padme exclaimed, and Rey had just enough time to put her arm through her sweater before said shoe was retrieved. “I didn’t even get to finish listening to that podcast.”

“You can listen on the bus. But remember, when we’re on the move—“

“Attention must be paid, I know,” Padme grumbled.

After making sure the door was locked, and they both had everything, they began their daily trek—first the five blocks to the bus stop for Padme’s school, then off on the subway into Manhattan for work.

Some days, Rey Niima, 24 years old, felt utterly confident at the mammoth task she’d taken, becoming guardian to her eleven year old sister. There was nobody else who was going to do it, and she knew that she was the best person for the job. But today, she was feeling a little overwhelmed, and Padme wasn’t in the best of moods, which did little to help.

They made it to the stop just as the bus pulled over. Rey smiled at the driver, the same one they had since she and Padme moved here from Wisconsin, and led her sister to a couple of empty seats.

“Ready for your big recital today?” Rey asked, rustling though her bag to make sure she had everything—wallet, keys, phone, pepper spray, and of course, Padme’s clothes. Rey was not going to let her sister conveniently “forget” her dance clothes.

“No,” Padme grumbled, and right away, Rey knew this was the source of her sister’s foul mood. “Don’t you think this is a little un-feminist? Did Michelle Obama ever have to go to ballet class?”

“Yes,” was Rey’s simple answer, because both knew perfectly well that Michelle Obama was formerly a prima ballerina. They both listened to the audiobook of _Becoming_ , after Rey had put them on the wait list in the library. “You made a commitment to this class. I think, more than anything, we should see it through.”

“Fine,” Padme huffed, glaring out her window with all the drama of an eleven year old. Rey smiled and pulled her sister close for a quick hug.

“It’ll be fine. Finn and Poe are going to be there with me, and Rose said she would take us out for pizza after.”

That actually made Padme smile. Rey thanked god for that, because she knew soon enough, her sister was going to stop thinking that hanging out with Rey’s friends was cool, and she would have her own friends, and Rey didn’t want to think about this right now.

“Besides,” Rey added. “Think of how cute it will be when you run for congresswoman thirty years from now, and I’ll have all of these nice pictures of you in a tutu to show the press.”

Padme gasped. “Rey, don’t you dare! And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her seat when she was 29, so it’s more like twenty years.”

* * *

 

They made it to school on time, and Padme threw her sister a quick hug.

“Four pm,” Padme reminded, hefting her bag with her dance clothes over her shoulder. “You can’t be late.”

“I won’t,” Rey promised. If there was anything she could ever do for her sister, it was not break a promise. _God only knows I’ve had enough broken promises to last me a lifetime._

Pushing the thought out if her mind, because she couldn’t afford to think about it or linger on it, Rey shook her head and walked to the subway station to make her usual trek to Manhattan. She came up the right station and it just felt like a cloud of dust had descended into her vision, the sunlight blocked by massive buildings, her way blocked by people coming to and fro.

_No time to appreciate,_ Rey thought, pushing though the crowds to get to her usual breakfast stand, where she got her usual coffee and bagel to go before she power-walked toward Canto Bight Hotel, the fanciest place on Fifth Avenue.

"Looking good, Rey!" Snap, the doorman called after her, and Rey rolled her eyes at him before walking past the gilded revolving doors to the employees entrance, proudly, embarrassingly advertising that 'the nicest staff in the business pass though these doors.'

"I was about to call a search party," Finn, her best friend and number one cheerleader, pushed himself off of the wall next to the entrance and walked with her into the bowels of Canto Bight. Rey and Finn got the job working here at the same time, and had been attached to the hip ever since. "Rough morning?"

"It hasn't even started yet," Rey snickered, as she stamped in her timecard. From the security booth, a small, slight figure turned, and Rey was suddenly face to face with Maz Kanata's big, scrutinizing eyes.

"Good morning Rey!" She said enthusiastically, but still kept that all-knowing look on her face. "Just in time."

"Hey Maz," Rey smiled as she got her things together. "What's going on in the hotel today?"

"Oh the usual morning rush. Rich people scrambling to check out, forgetting that I'm down here watching them. But I've got a little show going on in the fourth floor for you," Maz turned to her console and pressed a couple of buttons.

“WOAH!” Both Rey and Finn couldn't help but exclaim at the sight of a fully naked man's hairy backside as he bent over and attempted to jimmy his door open.

"That's right. It's a look enough to put someone off their breakfast," Maz chuckled like it was the funniest thing she'd seen all day. "Locked himself out, poor guy."

"Ugh, he's one of mine. Commander Tarkin in the Imperial Suite," Rey sighed, picking up the phone and calling housekeeping, the ones that were just coming off of the night shift. "Hey, can we send a robe over to the Imperial Suite? And a key. Thanks."

"Oh Rey. The world needs more guardian angels like you," Maz smiled as Rey shook her head.

"Trust me, Maz. I'm no angel," she said, waving her goodbye before she and Finn headed to the locker rooms, presumably to change and start the day. Canto Bight was an equal opportunity hotel, which only meant that men could be hired as maids, women as butlers, that sort of thing.

"Hey, did you guys hear the news?" Rose, from the laundry came up to them, looking fresh as a daisy this early in the morning.

"What news?" Rey asked, taking a quick shot of the last of her coffee. In her world, there was no time to luxuriate in coffee. Which was sad, because she loved coffee. "Wait, I'm going to change first."

"Rose, do not tell her anything until I come out!" Finn exclaimed, ducking in to the men's locker room as Rose waited in the hallway. As she was dressing, she heard the assistant manager Holdo leading a group of new hires through the staff area.

“A Canto Bight maid is expedient,” she began. Rey mouthed the words along, because she’d heard it so many times that it was practically tattooed on her brain now. “A Canto Bight maid is thorough. A Canto Bight maid serves with a smile. And above all, a Canto Bight maid strives to be invisible.”

She sighed.

Rey took less than three minutes to toss her coffee cup, change into her uniform, smooth her hair and stuff her belongings into her locker. Finn joined them in the hallway five minutes after that.

Rose rolled her eyes, as if waiting on a secret had been the biggest chore of her life, and finally told them.

"Holdo got promoted to Hotel Manager!"

"How do you know?" Finn asked, looking around as if sweeping for ninjas or assassins, because this was _huge_. Holdo was one of them, just a few years ago. To have her upstairs as a manager, was crazy.

"I heard her telling Maz. You know Maz knows everything. Sees everything. But that's not the best part. If Holdo's being promoted—“

“It means someone’s going to come in to take her place and boss us around,” Fin rolled his eyes, and Rey nodded in agreement. As great as Holdo was, a boss was a boss, just another spot in the food chain above Rey.

“It means that _anyone_ can come in to take her place,” Rose insisted, because sometimes Rey and Finn acted like idiots and she had to be the one to steer them back to earth. “Even Rey.”

“What?”

“Yeah!” Finn exclaimed, his earlier disappointment went away at the idea. “Rey, you should totally apply for manager.”

“Why?” She grumbled, walking to the tiny lounge area where everyone was already starting to gather for their usual morning meeting.

“Because you’re amazing, and I totally believe in you,” Finn chuckled, and Rey still could not believe that there was one person in the universe like Finn, who actually wanted the best for her, who cared for her, and would do anything for her.

“Yeah, me too!” Rose added, nudging her with an elbow.

Okay, so there were _two_ people in the world like that.

“And you’ve got the best track record among all of us here! You always ace the evals, and the only requirement is that you’ve been working for three consecutive years, which you have.”

“So have you, and Rose.”

“But we’re not you!”

“Okay everyone,” Holdo’s calm but commanding voice filled the space, and Rey was once again face-to-face with one of the women she admired the most. Holdo had a way of commanding a room without yelling at the top of her lungs, which always made people feel at ease around her. Rey had no doubt she would be a great manager. “First of all, some of you might have heard that I was recently promoted to Manager of the hotel.”

There was a round of applause. And Holdo, who didn’t seem to enjoy attention, held a hand up to stop the clapping.

“Thank you. But more importantly, I wanted to let you know that they have decided to fill my previous role in-house. So I highly encourage anyone who feels they are qualified to apply for—“

“Excuse me, Miss Holdo?” Finn interrupted, and Holdo lifted her head. “Can a maid apply?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course. As long as she…or even he, has been in the staff of Canto Bight for three years, they are qualified to apply.”

“Interesting,” Rose said, picking up an application form from the pile being passed around. “Verrry interesting.”

“On to business,” Holdo, as always, nodded to the staff.

* * *

 

Just like that, Rey’s work day began. She was paired with Finn on the regular floors, and they moved from door to door with smooth efficiency and ease that only came from close friendship—he always seemed to know that she had problems reaching higher shelves, and she knew he could never quite get the beds as quarter-bouncing crisp as she could.

“What was the thing with this room again?” Finn would ask, and Rey would know which room needed the mini-bar cleared, which room needed extra Evian bottles and slippers.

Once those rooms were done, they moved on to the suites that were assigned to them solo. One of the odd things about the hotel was that they preferred to have a one-on-one assignment with the bigger suites, the logic being that there were a smaller number rooms versus the regular floors, or something.

Rey made her way to the Takodana Suite just before lunch. _Bazine Netal, transferring from Trump Towers, prefers lavender scents, a spritz of Chanel No. 5 in her room and careful attention._

She liked remembering those little details about the people staying in the rooms under her. It was easier to anticipate their needs that way, and it was nice to think about what their lives were like.

_Always on the outside, looking in_ , her mother used to tell her. _You have to learn to live a life of your own, Reyrey._

Well, too late now.

She liked the Takodana suite. It was enough for two people without feeling too cramped, the suite had an anteroom that opened up into a balcony, a bedroom featuring soft green furnishings. The bathroom was luxurious, with a bath big enough for her to swim in, with a study desk and a flat-screen.

But Rey could never get enough of that view. She wouldn’t walk out and stand there while she was working, of course, but she liked to picture herself there when she was giving in to pipe dreams, imagining herself looking out at the New York skyline and feeling…happy. And content. And not overwhelmed.

She set to work, making sure the room was clean for the coming guest, adding pillow mints like she requested, and a sprig of lavender in a ribbon that Maz procured for her.

Then she took a bottle of Chanel No. 5 from the sample counter of the gift boutique and spritzed it all around the room. A little heavy for her taste, but she could practically taste the luxury.

She was just about to do her usual last-minute checks when Holdo stepped in to do that for her.

“Hello Rey,” she said gently, moving around the room to make sure that nothing was amiss. She checked the bathroom, the way Ray lined up the L’Occitane bath products, the way she refreshed the orchids in the vase, the hydrangeas in the anteroom table. Holdo paused when she saw the lavender on the bed, picking it up gingerly and taking a quick sniff before carefully placing it back on the bed.

“That’s a lovely touch,” she told Rey, and Rey couldn’t help but smile back. “I do hope you’re applying for assistant manager, Rey.”

“I’m…thinking about it,” she admitted, and that was as much pride as she would allow herself.

“Good,” Holdo gave a nod. “You’re leaving early today, yes? Please make sure you get Poe to sign off before you leave. He should be in the Imperial Suite.”

Rey thanked Holdo and headed off to the Imperial Suite. It was a quarter to three already, if she wanted to make it to Padme by four, she would have to leave at three on the dot.

She hurried her steps.

“Poe?” She asked, peeking in to the still-empty suite, just in time to hear Poe curse in very colorful Spanish.

“What happened?” Rey asked, stepping in to the kitchen area, where Poe was holding his bleeding hand and bits of crystal were on the floor. Rey immediately went into damage control mode, handing him a clean napkin she always had on hand to stem the bleeding while she picked up the pieces of glass.

“Tarkin had an attitude and forgot to clean up after himself,” the normally cheerful Poe grumbled. “Jessika already did most of the work, but I was just finishing up. Fuck, I still have to unpack for Netal in the Takodana and shit, you’re supposed to leave already.”

All the grace and dignity of a Canto Bight butler, Poe Dameron.

“It’s fine,” Rey shrugged.

“It’s not fine, Rey. You need to go. Where’s the thing I need to sign? I’ll sign it with my blood if I have to.”

“I think using your other hand will be fine,” she said wryly, taking the form and the pen from her pocket and leaving Poe to grapple with that while she cleaned up the last bits of crystal, and the blood and anything else. There was also a garment bag draped over the counter, which Poe lifted up.

"What's that?" Rey asked him.

"It's for Bazine Netal in the Takodana Suite. Dolce sent it, and she wants it pressed and unpacked."

"Let me handle it," Rey said.

"But..."

"I have time. I'll be quick," she said, as the front door made a little beeping noise.

"That will be the guests."

"I'll clear out and go," Rey said, heading into the bathroom to get a bag to dispose of the glass, and everything else.

She was just doing her last minute touch ups in the bathroom when the door burst open. A tall figure with dark, wavy hair and a sharp suit walked in, and without looking at her, headed to the toilet, ostensibly to take a leak.

"Ahem.”

“Holy Jesus fucking Christ!” The man jumped. Thank god it looked like he only got so far as unzipping his fly, but didn't turn to Rey. “I had no idea you were there.”

“It’s fine,” Rey tamped down a bad case of the giggles that got to her, and resumed picking up her belongongs. “It happens all the time.”

“Does it?”

“Okay, fine. You’re the exception,” she burst out, and that was a totally inappropriate thing to say to a guest, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

“Ben Solo,” he said, still with his back turned to her, and she liked to think that it was because he was embarrassed and caught between Rey and a hard place. “I would shake your hand, but—“

“Next time,” Rey joked, and she really had to stop. She’d finished gathering her things and hightailed it out of the bathroom and to the suite, where clearly, the guests had descended. The Imperial suite quickly seemed a little too full. The tallest woman she had ever seen in her life walked in, waving around a copy of today's New York Journal and talking to into her phone.

"I don't bloody care that you're not particularly known for stellar journalism, this is libel! Ben Solo did _not_ , in your words, punch you in the face as he fled the scene of the end of his relationship. It's a gramatically bad sentence too!"

Rey stopped when she realized that she knew that name. Not just because she'd heard it in the bathroom, but much earlier in the day, at the briefing.

_Senator Ben Solo is checking in today. He’s bringing along his staff to strategize for his re-election campaign, and is bringing along his staff and his dog named Chewie. We should bring out the required accoutrements. And make sure that he has 24/7 coffee and snack service._

“Rey,” Poe managed to catch her as Ben came out of the bathroom, immediately frowning as he started to speak to a man with red hair. A huge black dog appeared seemingly out of nowhere and barrelled into the room with zero care for the price-per-night premium and headed straight for Ben’s waiting arms.

“Rey!”

“Huh?”

Poe held up a garment bag, proudly showing off the brand name that was sending it. Rey could live five lifetimes and probably never own anything like it. Well. She'd touched a lot of expensive things that she would never own. She didn't regret it, or anything.

"Sorry. Can you still--"

"Yeah, yeah," She nodded, taking the bag and stealing one last look at Ben Solo absentmindedly scratching his dog's ears as he listened to the red-headed guy before she ducked out of the room. She had about fifteen minutes before she really had to leave for Padme's recital, and this little errand for Poe was going to take at least ten.

Damn.

Rey quickly quashed the little crush she developed for Ben Solo's backside and voice, and headed to the Takodana Suite. Bazine Netal awaited her Dolce.


End file.
